Way I have done this 2 years ago.Balkanology.com after Bled train seat61.com/croatia to Zagreb lots better than bus might go to Plitvice NP AMAZING between Zagreb Zadar then Split Blue Line ferry to Ancona for Italy close to San Marino seat61.com/italy back up toward Milan hopping on and off neat places.

Have fun!

Consider renting a car in Ljubljana, driving to Rovinj, and returning the car to Koper, Slovenia then bus or taxi up to Trieste. (Avoids drop charge for dropping in a different country.) Watch out, though: some buses between Trieste and Slovenia/Croatia don't run on Sundays.

Having a car between Ljubljana and Bled would allow you to stop in the picturesque town of Skofja Loka and enjoy the scenic, windy drive between Skofja Loka and Bled and/or add a side trip to Lake Bohinj the same day.

Another option is flying from Split, Croatia to Milan via easyJet if you wanted to head that far south. There are also cheap flights from Trieste to Milan FYI.

We stayed in Istria (Pula and Rovinj) and went to Ljubljana and Bled before taking a boat from Rovinj to Venice a few years back.

The place we prefered in Istria was without a doubt Rovinj. You wont regret staying there 2 days. You can take boat rides to the nearby islands.

We had the best meal of our life (if you want to splurge, do NOT miss Monte: http://www.monte.hr/) and we rented a perfectly cute apartment (trevisol studio, http://www.tripadvisor.com/VacationRentalReview-g303833-d2066014-Studio_Trevisol-Rovinj_Istria.html).

We took an early boat to Venice. It was a 2 minute walk from the apartment to the dock. The boat ride was a bit overwhelming since it was packed with day-trippers to Venice, so bring earplugs. Other than that, great way to enter Venice!

We LOVED Ljubljana. The highlight of our trip. So laid back, great restaurants, just loved it. We went to Bled for a day, walked around the lake, and spent the afternoon in a hotel spa for 10euros. Happy times!

Andrew, how would the OP get to Split?

Without a car, I'just do 2 nights in Rovinj.

And I'd stick with the boat to Venice. You can pick up a car in Venice, drive south to Ferrara, then NW to Parma and Milan. Urbino is a bit of an outlier on this trip. You might consider dropping it.

You could drop the car in Parma and train into Milan. So you won't need to deal with driving in or around Milan.

Just want to add, you're missing most of Croatia and a lot of good stuff. Plan another trip back there sometime.

I assumed there was a bus link along the coast between Rovinj and Split - but maybe there isn't.

Yes, if the OP can find a convenient boat from Rovinj to Venice that would probably be the way to go.

Hi, thanks for the replies. I should have said - we've already done the Dalmatian coast - Dubrovnik, Korcula and Split (2010). It was wonderful - thus the desire to now see Rovinj. Do not want to go any further south on this trip.

I just read about a ferry that goes from Rovinj to Rimini. Anyone know anything about that? That would really simplify things but I don't want to wait till the schedules for the ferries come out to book hotels.

jojoanna - did you book the ferry to Venice ahead of time or once you got to Rovinj? Sounds like it was full. And how did you get from Ljubljana to Rovinj?

> Arrive Ljubljana 16:25... I'm thinking three nights Ljubljana with a day trip to Lake Bled. ... Then bus to Rovinj - I 'think' there is a bus that leaves Ljubljana around 1 or 2 pm

So an evening, 2 days, and another morning in Ljubljana, counting the time in Bled? That should work. But if you are willing to consider a 1-night stay in Bled, there could be some advantages: The airport is 1/2 way between Ljubljana and Bled, so you could go there the 1st night and enjoy a walk around the lake or maybe even a boat ride to Bled Island before watching the sunset and having dinner. You could spend the next morning at the castle and then visit Vintgar Gorge before heading to Ljubljana in time to settle in before dinner. That would still give you 2 nights, with a full day and your time before bus to Rovinj to enjoy Ljubljana - and I thought a full day plus/minus is about right for delightful Ljubljana.

I don't know what the current bus schedules are, but I'm pretty sure this was do-able by public transport when I was there in May/June of 2009. (But I ended up renting a car for my time in Slovenia so I can't say for sure.)

> gets to Rovinj at 19:15. Is one full day/two nights enough or should we add another day here?

It really depends on what you want to see and do. I thoroughly enjoyed Rovinj, but was I was definitely ready to leave after a little under a full day.

> We won't have a car so not sure if it's feasible to go anywhere else in the region.

I don't know the current bus schedules, but I would guess that Porec, Pula, and at least a few other major Istrian destinations can be reached by bus from Rovinj. I've generally found the Rough Guides very useful for identifying bus routes, along with frequency and duration information.

I'll look forward to seeing your photographs wherever you end up going - you have such an amazing eye!

Enjoy!

ferry from Rovinj to Ravenna / Cesenatico / Rimini / Pesaro @
http://www.emiliaromagnalines.it/home.do

monte - thanks so much for that link

kja - I am trying to reduce the number of one and two night stays but your idea about staying in Bled first is something to think about, it does make sense. Can you suggest hotels in either Bled or Ljubljana or Rovinj?

In Bled, I enjoyed the Penzion Mayer very much, both for lodging and for dinner.

In Ljubljana, I would strongly urge you to AVOID the Emonec. The Slamic B&B seems to get good reviews.

In Rovinj, check into the Casa Garzotto or the Baladur-Pavan, which is associated with it.

The Slamic B&B in Ljubljana is fine - I stayed two nights in September. I wouldn't call it amazing, but there are few affordable, good lodging options in Ljlubjana, so the Slamic would rank pretty high. My room was small, but I had only a single bed (I knew that ahead of time). A double room would probably be better. Location is good not great - wish it were a few blocks closer to the center but still walkable to everything. In 2009 I stayed in a private room at the Alibi M14 Hostel on Miklošičeva (not the original Alibi) which I thought was better located than the Slamic but not as convenient or nearly as nice as the Slamic, where I'd certainly stay again.

The Slamic doesn't book up as fast as other places i part because you can't book/hold a reservation through a conventional booking service. You must directly contact the Slamic through their website to make a reservation via a form and email confirmation, but communications with them were clear and timely.